Results 3,261-3,280 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Hospital Infections: Motion (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Ní ró-mhinic a chímid anseo í anois, but the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, visits us fairly regularly and she is very welcome.

Seanad: Hospital Infections: Motion (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: We are always glad to welcome the Minister. In her early days as a Minister of State the Minister for Health and Children was one of the first to begin the practice of introducing legislation in this House. She had the double burden of introducing major legislation and dealing with a large, significant and domineering senior Minister simultaneously but she did both competently.

Seanad: Hospital Infections: Motion (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: This is too serious an issue for me to make the sort of speech I usually make because I could beat the Minister over the head about the delays. I think it is a pity we may well end up trying to reinvent the wheel on this matter. I would have loved to have heard in the Minister's speech why her Department thinks the incidence of MRSA is so much lower in places like the Netherlands and...

Seanad: Hospital Infections: Motion (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: When we were changing babies' nappies and preparing their bottles, we knew about enhanced hand hygiene. The Health Research Board's press release states it "will then use state-of-the-art molecular technology". What has this to do with washing one's hands. Somebody fed a good bit of jargon to the Minister who is, incidentally, a very intelligent woman. I am not sure what any of this means...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Is there a precedent for this sort of legislation? Is language such as "by virtue of its antiquity and having been granted or otherwise made before or during the development of the parliamentary system" normal in other jurisdictions, or is it something entirely new and innovative? Although there are no amendments to the Bill, I am curious and the Oireachtas ought to understand what it is...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Perhaps inappropriately, I wish to mention that a distinguished Member of the British House of Commons is present in the Visitors Gallery. It is appropriate he is present, given the debate we are dealing with and because he is a great friend of Ireland.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: With a Member of the House of Commons, it seems the further back a debate goes, the more he likes it. I am intrigued by the unpublished private Acts referred to in the memorandum and covered by section 2(2)(b). These Acts sound like something from a novel written before the time of D.H. Lawrence. What is meant by "unpublished private Acts"? I do not want to be awkward. There are private...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: They are referred to in the explanatory memorandum.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: The memorandum states: "The reference to Acts" enacted as "private acts is intended to cover unpublished private Acts". While I do not wish to be awkward, I would like to know precisely what we are discussing. I am also aware that a group of eminent and able lawyers, who have done all the work on this legislation, are present in the Visitors Gallery. They deserve enormous credit for the...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: They did not get as far as Cork, but that is alright.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I am sorry. Legislation ought to be accessible. I want to know what is meant by unpublished private Acts. How do we know how many there are? How do we know they exist if they are unpublished? That is all I want to know.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Senator Mansergh will lose his right to bear arms.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Senator Mansergh is the only Member of the House who would be entitled to bear arms.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: The explanatory memorandum states: Subsection (3) is a partial repeal of the Bill of Rights. While the main provisions of the Bill of Rights are proposed to be retained for the time being,——

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: No. The reference here is to the exclusive right of Protestants to bear arms. That is the reason I pointed out that if we do not repeal it, Senator Mansergh is the only one of the Members here who would have that right. I would feel it was unfair if Senator Mansergh could bear arms and I could not. I would really feel threatened.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: May I make my point. The year 1688 is one year before 1689, which was a significant year. Perhaps we should reconsider the decision to repeal some of these provisions. "For the time being" is mentioned in the Bill. I accept we have constitutional guarantees that are probably of greater significance, but I am not sure, given the different traditions on this island and the significance of...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: How does the legal, judicial and parliamentary system decide that legislation has fallen out of full force and effect? I am not trying to be troublesome, but I was of the impression that if laws existed and had been enacted, they were the law. That may have been in practice, but is there a way in which laws fall out of use?

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: The significance of assigning Short Titles escapes me. The Bill's basic thrust makes perfect sense; we are getting rid of a great deal of legislation. However, what is the legal or other significance of the decision to go through a great deal of arcane legislation and assign new Short Titles?

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I want to ask the dumb question why, particularly regarding the reference to the Bill of Rights. I do not believe the Government is about to deprive us of all our liberties, but constitutional evolution, albeit on the part of a foreign government, is of great significance. The evolution of rights in the English parliamentary system is part of the evolution of world democracy. I do not know...